ND4Life

These photos are from the Twitter feed of Augustana's AD: Apparently he was touring hockey arenas this week -- those at Miami of Ohio, Notre Dame and Coralville, Ia. DI hockey at Augie might actually happen.

Anyone think Randy Hedberg would have a shot at replacing DL? What he has done at St. Cloud State -- given the sorry state of facilities (until recently), and fan and community support -- has been remarkable.

This is slightly off topic, but weren't Big Sky officials scheduled to meet at the end of October to (possibly) discuss expansion? I haven't seen anything on this. Anyone have info on this?

What's wrong with that? If you were a Sioux fan living in Fargo, which would you rather read in your Sunday paper -- a story written by a Grand Forks-based reporter who follows the team every day or a wire service version written by a reporter who lives in the "away" city, in this case, Cedar Falls, Iowa?

That's true. They will indeed consider those other factors. But ultimately it will come down to one thing -- money. As you said, the next few years will be far from boring for Sioux fans.

Thanks. That's all I was looking for, though I'm not sure the attendance differences are great enough to lend much credence to the argument that the UND-DU hockey rivalry would make the Big Sky more likely to add the two schools as a package deal. In the end, college presidents make the final decision on expansion, and college presidents still like to look at such things as travel costs, airport connections, flight schedules, etc. As much as I would like to see it, I don't think the Big Sky will add UND. At some point, you have to take peope at their word, and Fullerton has said more than once that the Big Sky is not looking eastward. My guess is if the Big Sky does expand, it goes after British Columbia (assuming the NCAA gives the OK). UBC fits the model for recent Big Sky expansions -- it's in a large metro area and within (to use an overused phrase) the conference's geographic footprint. Given the news out of Fargo and Brookings today, I suspect UND will be playing football in a seven- to eight-member Great West conference in two or three years and in an expanded or reconfigured Mid-Continent Conference for other sports in six or seven years.

That's what I was trying to do -- that is, trying to determine, with facts, whether in previous years UND's games drew considerably more people than other games. Still haven't seen any hard figures from anyone posting on this board. What was the difference in attendance before DU hockey became popular -- 2,000 for non-UND games, 6,000 for UND games? 3,000 for non-UND games, 3,500 for UND games? Details, please.

Help me out on this one. I checked the attendance figures for DU's home games last season, and nearly all were in the 6,100 range, including the UND games. Perhaps in years past UND made a difference at the gate, before DU hockey became a relatively hot ticket? Not trying to play message board "Gotcha," just looking for hard figures.

Add me to the list of people who are a tad befuddled by this finalist list. I can think of a couple of possible reasons: 1. Salary, as was mentioned previously, and 2. Perhaps some of the other applicants -- especially the Division I assistants -- lost interest when they were told this might not be a DI job anytime soon. This is total speculation (because I'm still not convinced UND isn't going DI), but at least it would help explain why these guys are still in the running.

I believe the CBS announcers said one of Winona's starters -- Henderson, I think -- is a transfer from Creighton. Also, they said Winona's center, the Smith kid, was recruited by two mid-major Division I schools but really liked Winona.

Does anyone have anything approaching inside information on which way the committee is leaning re: a decision on Division I? I'll support whatever the members recommend and the administration decides -- DI or DII. I'm just curious whether any of this board's members know anything more than what we've read in the newspaper or heard elsewhere.

Can someone explain why Nebraska-Kearney has been so reluctant to join the NCC? I would think travel would be better for UNK in the NCC as opposed to the RMAC. If it's a matter of UNK not being able to meet certain NCC scholarship or budget requirements, I say cut UNK some slack. At this late stage, it's more important for the NCC to get a school that has proven it can compete in a range of sports, especially football and basketball. Let UNK worry about meeting financial standards later. UNK is a natural fit for the NCC and the most attractive Division II school in the region. In my opinion, they should have been invited the day Morningside left. Then we wouldn't be hearing any talk of UNO leaving.

Speaking as a former newspaperman, my guess is The Forum would do very little with The Herald if it ended up being the buyer. Any consolidation likely would occur in operations that do not directly affect news coverage -- human resources, circulation, maybe advertising. In fact, one could argue that the quality of regional coverage would improve, with the papers sharing same-day staff-written stories instead of relying on a day-late rewrite from a wire service. Sadly, The Herald is hardly the paper it once was. It enjoyed a reputation within the newspaper industry as a small daily that tried to do things the right way. Today, it seems the entire paper can be folded up and tucked in your back pocket most days. The Forum, simply by virtue of its location in a healthier advertising environment, is able take on the local, regional and statewide enterprise projects The Herald once was known for.

Longtime lurker, first-time poster. Just wondering what Sioux fans' opinions are of the potential conference made up of the Division I independents, NDSU, SDSU, et. al. Do you think UND would have any interest in such a conference, perhaps as an entree into Division I? Or do you think it's the Big Sky or nothing? Not trying to stir up the old DI-vs.-DII debate. Just curious what others think.